


A Lost Language Helps Find A Forgotten Love

by psychoroach



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Book Spoilers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 05:58:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9109663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychoroach/pseuds/psychoroach
Summary: After a devastating breakup Alec, with a little help from his sister, Isabelle, decides to try and win Magnus back with the lost language of flowers.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't exactly read all the books, just the first. Mostly I'm a fan of the tv show. So I used what I could find on the internet and help of a friend to talk about the breakup and what happened. I sort of glossed over it though. So look over any discrepancies there may be and just focus on the adorable Malec!

Alec sat, slumped, in his quarters at the Institute. It had been four months since Magnus had broken up with him and despite all the phone calls, and everyone trying to talk to Magnus on his behalf, Magnus had been stubborn and refused to talk to Alec. He understood, though. What he did was pretty awful, even if he had good intentions, and he understood why Magnus was angry with him and had broken up with him. That didn't mean Alec wasn't heartbroken though. When Magnus came into his life, he'd infinitely improved it. Alec had hid who he was for so long that he'd grown accustomed to living in the shadows, peeking out the proverbial closet door to everyone who seemed more in tune with who they were, more confident in the core of what made them themselves. Alec had no idea how coming out would change his life, but it had been a complete 180*. He felt more confident in more than just his Shadowhunter abilities. He no longer silently berated himself, he no longer felt awkward being out and about among people who seemed happier, confident, assured of themselves. Then he'd gone and screwed it all up and he had no idea how to fix it. He knew he probably should've started trying to just get used to the fact that he and Magnus stood no chance of getting back together but a part of him kicked and screamed at the thought of going back to how he was before, and another part of him had a broken heart at the thought of all of the growth he'd made going down the drain. 

A knock at the door interrupted his brooding thoughts and he was about to call out for whoever it was to go away but Isabelle stepped through the door before he could and walked over to where he sat, hand on her hip as she stood in front of him and looked him over. "Hmmm." 

"I really don't want to talk right now, Izzy." Alec said, voice flat, unemotional. 

"You know I never took you for the type to just roll over and give up." Isabelle said, ignoring him completely. 

That made a spark of anger, white hot and overwhelming, shoot through him and he looked up at her sharply, a look that would send most people running. But as quick as it came, it was gone and he slumped again. "I've tried to talk to him, he won't talk to me." 

"So try another tactic. Talk to him in a way that he'd respond to, without trying to speak to him." Isabelle said, looking at her nails. 

"Talk to him, but don't talk to him, wow, that's great advice." Alec said sarcastically, rolling his eyes so hard he swore he became dizzy.

"You aren't listening to me." Isabelle shoved his shoulder, causing him to grunt loudly. "I said speak to him in a way that would catch his attention. Make him sit up and pay attention." 

"How do I do that?" Alec asked, shooting her an annoyed look.

Isabelle gave him the same look right back. "You have to figure that out, you know Magnus far better than I do. What do you think he'd respond to?" 

Alec looked at her, baffled, before it slowly melted away as he started thinking about his options. 

Isabelle walked over to a bookcase in Alec's room, mostly filled with books that Magnus had given him, and shot him an enigmatic smile. "I'll let you think it over." She grabbed a book from the case and put it on top of some of the others, walking out and shutting the door behind him. 

Alec grumbled under his breath, getting up and going over to the bookcase and grabbing the book she'd disturbed. He went to put it back, but the title caught his attention: The Language of Flowers: Or, How to Passive-Agressively Say 'Fuck You' In Flower by Samantha Johnston. Alec thought about what Isabelle had said and the fact that she'd grabbed that specific book...Magnus did in fact like flowers...

He held onto the book and sat down, putting it beside him. He grabbed a notebook and pen and flipped the book open to start making notes about flowers and meanings. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Magnus walked to his loft, holding his satchel against his side. Ever since he'd broken up with Alec he kept a stiff upper lip, going and doing his work, making an appearance at Pandemonium...but most of the time he sat at home, despondent. Chairman Meow tried to perk him up, but despite the cat's best efforts, Magnus didn't quite want to perk up just yet. 

He took out the key to unlock his front door and almost tripped over something by the door. He looked down and saw an assortment of flowers, most not even coming close to looking good together and he was confused, picking them up. There didn't seem to be any magic attached so he didn't think anyone was trying to kill him, but he was still confused about what the flowers were doing there in the first place. 

Taking the flowers inside, Magnus sat the arrangement down and looked at them, really studied them, trying to find some correlation between them. It hit him finally and he smiled instinctively. Whoever sent them was trying to send him a message, but were probably a novice at 'the language of flowers'. So he just needed to decode the message and see if he could figure out who the sender was.

The first flower that caught his eye was peach milkvetch and Magnus wracked his brain to remember what it meant. Ah yes, your charms, like your qualities, are unmatched. Flattering and obviously someone could appreciate him. That was nice. Purple pansies were next which was 'you occupy my thoughts'. Magnus wasn't sure what to think about that but he chose to believe it was a good thing. Mezereon which was timidity. Pink peonies which signified shame and last Star of Bethlehem which was reconciliation. 

It was the last one that did it. Alec. That was who sent him the flowers. Magnus didn't know what to think about that. On one hand, what Alec did was terrible and it had hurt Magnus deeply, even though a part of him could possibly understand why he'd done it. But it had broken Magnus' heart. 

The fact that Alec had gone through such trouble made quite an impact though and it was obvious that Alec cared enough and felt terrible enough that he was going out of his comfort zone to do his best to get through to Magnus. Which caught Magnus' attention and he thought maybe he should respond in kind. Even if it wasn't what Alec wanted...at first. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Alec came back to the Institute after patrolling with Jace he felt tired; not just mentally, but physically as well. He didn't even spare a glance to anyone as he made his way to his quarters, wanting to take a shower and go to bed. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the basket of flowers next to his door and his heart hammered in his chest as he bent down and scooped them up, dashing inside his room incase someone came up. He put the flowers down carefully and stared at them for a few beats before he hastily grabbed his book on flower meanings and sat down, glad the book had little pictures of what the flowers looked like so he'd know what to look for. 

Pink camellias were up front and Alec smiled as he read that they meant 'longing for you'. That meant Magnus hadn't totally written him off and that he still loved Alec. 

Striped carnations meant 'I wish I could be with you' and the words made Alec's heart twist in his chest. He knew that could be taken very different ways but as he lightly ran his fingers over the stem of the beautiful flower, he knew that Magnus was telling him 'I can't be with you right now'. He noticed that one of the striped colors was yellow and he remembered that meant something as well and his heart dropped to his feet when he read that it meant 'you have disappointed me'. Message loud and clear, Magnus. 

The last flower was primrose and when Alec read that it meant 'I can't live without you' he burst into tears, glad that no one was there to see him have a breakdown. He knew he had a long way to go with Magnus but just knowing that Magnus thought there was a chance they could get back together at some point eased his broken heart, soothed him in ways he hadn't since their last meeting. He knew they had a long way before they'd ever be able to be together again, but there was hope there and hope was all Alec needed. 

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Magnus smiled when he got his second basket of flowers and hummed to himself as he took them to his kitchen table to look them over, discover their meanings and put them in water to preserve them...right next to the ones he kept from before. He took out a nice, deep green vase and glided out of the room to grab some deep purple ribbon, and a piece of corded twine. He wrapped them around each other and tied them in a bow around the vase and then turned to look the flowers over, a little giddy. 

Coral and dark crimson roses were first and Magnus remembered they meant desire (coral) and mourning (crimson). He smiled in a bittersweet way as he put them in the vase. Magnus gasped when a thought occurred to him and he checked the stems---seeing that the thorns had been removed, which had the meaning of 'love at first sight'. He let out a noise and put a hand over his heart, closing his eyes briefly. "Me, too, Alexander." He murmured. He went to throw the basket away but felt something shift in the bottom and he saw a handful of raspberries stuck down in the bottom. He couldn't help but burst out laughing, a huge wave of affection coursing through him. "Oh, Alexander." 

Once he put the flowers away, making sure they had plenty of water, he took out his phone and stared at a number he hadn't acknowledged in a long time. He selected it, pulling up a text since he wasn't sure he could hear Alec's voice right that second. 'I think we should talk---in person. Are you free on Thursday? Around 1 PM? We could meet for lunch at our place.' 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alec got the message and felt his heart hammering in his chest. He hadn't expected to hear from Magnus so soon and he got nervous immediately, even though it was only Monday. He had three more days before Thursday and...he realized he still needed to text Magnus back. 'Su...' He started to text and shook his head. "Too casual, makes you seem like you don't care." He mumbled to himself. 'Yeah, I'm free, for you always. I'll be there.' He wondered briefly if it was too over the top, too much of a reaction. Before he could second guess himself a finger came over his shoulder and sent the text. 

He whipped around and looked up at Isabelle, who was giving him a grin. "What? It was perfect, I swear. Not too much. You know Magnus, he'll be over the moon seeing something like that." She waved a hand at him. "Now get up, we have an outfit to plan." 

"We do?" Alec asked, putting his phone down, eyeing her. 

"Uh yeah." Isabelle rolled her eyes, like she was thinking he was the dumbest person alive...she was. "Alec you have to put in effort. I know he fell in love with you because of who you are and all, but this is important. You have to show him that you're serious and that you're trying for him. Not just with what you say, but what you wear." 

"Ok. So..." Alec ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. "Help me?" 

"I thought you'd never ask." Isabelle beamed, heading towad his closet. She threw it open and dug through, taking out a nicer black blazer suit jacket. She hung it up on the door and walked to his dresser, digging through his shirts before she decided on a black, grey and white checkered shirt, pairing it with a plain black pair of dress pants. "All this with some dressy shoes...oh and do something with your hair." 

Alec nodded, flashing her a smile. "Thank you for the help, Izzy." 

"Just do everything you can to make this right." Isabelle pointed at him threateningly. 

"I will." Alec promised.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Magnus arrived at the restaurant dressed in a very Magnus-dressy way. He had on a magenta-purple sort of shirt that was composed of leather strips all over paired with a sheer mesh material in a lighter color that gave a peek at his body underneath, paired with some deep blue dress pants. He walked in and saw Alec already there. He took a moment to look him over, feeling his breath leave him, and he strode over, trying to maintain the confident air everyone associated with him. "Hello, Alexander." 

Alec looked up from studying the dessert menu, startled. He hadn't expected Magnus to show up so suddenly. "Magnus...hey...hi. I...hi." 

Magnus smiled at him, a fond gesture that he couldn't quite hold back. "Distracted by the sweets selection already?" 

"No, I..." Alec hastily shoved the menu away. "Just waiting for you to get here." 

"Well I am here." Magnus ordered a glass of wine from a passing waitress and Alec hastily ordered the same. "So...I've been getting your flowers." 

"Yeah? I...I hope you like them." Alec said sincerely.

"I love them, I kept both of them." Magnus smiled. 

"I liked mine, too. I...uh, Izzy helped me press them." Alec rubbed his arm in an uncomfortable gesture.

"Good, they'll keep that way. I think I'll do that with mine, too, when they start looking wilted." Magnus said, playing with a menu. "So...I asked you here for a reason." 

"I know." Alec said, looking at his fingers. "I'm sorry. I know that's probably the lamest thing I could say, considering what I did...but I am. I know it doesn't even begin to make anything better, but..." He became overwhelmed and had to stop talking. He felt his emotions bubbling up, and he resolutely did not want to cry in the middle of a restaurant that, while not crowded, had more people in it than he was comfortable crying in front of.

"Alexander, calm down." Magnus reached over and grabbed his hand. "I...I know, I understand. Actually, I've been thinking about things ever since I texted you about meeting and I realized you aren't the only one at fault, so am I." Alec went to say something and Magnus held his hand up. "No let me speak. I have never had a love like ours. I've loved, I've had people in my life I cared for deeply, I've been in relationships. But you're half my heart. You mean so much to me it literally scares me, and I thnk anything about me could scare you off. I know that's not giving you nearly enough credit, which again is a mistake...I understand that now. When you did...it almost reaffirmed how I felt. So when that happened, instead of talking with you, fighting it out more, I decided what I did and I walked away. I felt like it was better to just...close off that part of my heart." He laughed bitterly. "I was a fool to think I could do that." 

"But I got the offer to make you mortal and...you wanted to make me immortal." Alec stuttered over the words. 

"Yes and I didn't take it, I also was going to make myself mortal." Magnus chuckled softly. "We're sort of both idiots, aren't we?" 

"I guess we are." Alec admitted, grinning a bit. He then sobered. "So...what do we do?" 

"I love you." Magnus said. 

"I love you, too." Alec said softly. 

"So...both of us made mistakes, we're both sorry for them." Magnus said. "Let's table the mortal-immortal discussion for now. You're so very young, Alexander, especially compared to an old warlock like me. We have time. I grow weary of being without you, and I just want a little piece of happiness while I can have it. Will you take me back?" 

Alec laughed, tears flooding his eyes even though he tried not to cry. "Will you take me back?" 

Magnus leaned over the table and kissed him, touching his cheek tenderly. "Move in with me." 

"Yes." Alec gasped out, beaming up at the older warlock. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Magnus woke up in bed, alone, naked and smiled as he stretched out, the covers dipping low enough on his body that they would be indecent if anyone else (but Alec) were there. He briefly thought about the last few months and the whirlwind his life had taken and felt happy that they'd worked things out. He noticed something out of the corner of his eye, and looked to see a small bundle of flowers held together with a blue ribbon. Flax, holly, myrtle and orange blossom. Magnus put a hand over his heart and read the small note attached which said 'if you accept, I'm in the living room'. He stood and barely paused to throw on a robe before racing out of the room, smiling brightly.


End file.
